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MARC provides assistance in I-470 collapse response

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) recently awarded a $4.46 million emergency contract to Pyramid Contractors, Inc., to fix pavement that collapsed on July 17 at 3-Trails Crossing on westbound I-470 to westbound I-435 in Kansas City, Mo. Pyramid will add a 225-foot bridge extension to the existing stable bridge at that location, replacing the failed road and wall. The goal is to get the more than 60,000 motorists who use the interchange daily back on the highway segment by Sept. 15.

MoDOT has identified detour routes, but also encourages motorists to find ways to help reduce the expected congestion over the next few months. MARC's Operation Green Light technicians are working with MoDOT to monitor detours on major arterial roadways, and are prepared to adjust traffic-signal timing, as necessary, to keep traffic flowing smoothly. Also, the RideShare program is keeping its database of thousands of commuters informed about how the road closure could impact their travel to work.

• Learn more about the repair project: www.modot.gov/kansascity/major_projects/3-TrailsCrossing.htm
• Live Web cam: http://oxblue.com/pro/open/modot/470repair

For more information, contact Ron Achelpohl.

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Kansas City metro hosts multistate sustainable housing conference on Aug. 12

Get the tools and knowledge to develop more sustainable homes and neighborhoods in your community by attending the 2010 Sustainable Housing Conference on Aug. 12. The conference is hosted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Region 7, the Builders Development Corporation, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, and MARC. Tracks include sessions on energy efficiency, healthy homes, homebuilders and developers, and sustainable neighborhoods.

A broad array of attendees is expected, including city and county representatives; builders and developers; real estate agents; nonprofit community-development organizations; and local, state and federal government agencies from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

The sustainable neighborhoods track may be of particular interest to transportation stakeholders, with sessions that highlight how:

• transit-oriented development can effectively handle traffic congestion.
• federal programs are joining forces to offer sustainable planning grants.
• organizations are working with policy makers to overcome obstacles to sustainable development.

The event will take place from 7:30 a.m.–6 p.m. at the Holiday Inn, 9103 E. 39th St., Kansas City, Mo. The fee is $85 and includes breakfast, lunch and a reception. Register now

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Smart Moves first-phase study completed for urban transit corridors

For the past year, MARC has worked with local communities and the region's transit providers to conduct a multiphase study that will develop an implementation plan for enhanced and expanded transit service on major urban and commuter corridors in the region. The study is based on Smart Moves, Greater Kansas City's vision for a regional transit system.

The Phase I Urban Corridors Strategy was recently completed. It outlines higher-capacity and bus rapid transit services for seven major urban corridors that link two states, four counties and numerous municipalities. Bus rapid transit is an enhanced bus system that operates on bus lanes or other transitways and combines the quality of rail transit with the flexibility of buses.

The seven-corridor urban network built on local planning efforts for the following:

• Main Street (operating since 2005)
• Troost Avenue (to begin operating in 2010)
• North Oak Trafficway
• State Avenue
• Shawnee Mission Parkway/Metcalf Avenue
• U.S. 24/Truman Road
• U.S. 40
  

Some of the recommended strategies outlined to integrate the corridors and optimize the network include:

• More traffic-signal priority for buses
• Uniform or seamless fare and transfer policies
• Coordinated communication policies between transit agencies
• Consistent branding of service
• Interline routes – connecting routes together to make longer, continuous routes
• Single downtown transit hub in Kansas City, Mo., to facilitate transfers

The Phase I report estimated the costs to develop the five new urban corridors, which will vary depending on the frequency of service and amenities provided.

NOTE: The total capital investment already secured for Main Street, Troost Avenue, State Avenue (through TIGER federal funds) and Shawnee Mission Parkway/Metcalf Avenue (through TIGER federal funds) is approximately $71 million.

• Regional Transit Implementation Plan Phase I: Urban Corridors Final Report (pdf, 4.6MB)
  

Phase II of the study, which is near completion, will develop an implementation plan for transit services on the region's major commuter corridors. Phase III will work to integrate the urban and commuter systems. Later, MARC and its partners will develop cost and financing strategies for urban, commuter and local services, and will pursue opportunities for federal and state investment.

For more information, contact Tom Gerend.

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Second quarter 2010 shows steady decline in roadway fatalities

The MARC staff tracks roadway fatalities in the Kansas City region and gathers historical safety data for planning purposes. Aside from 2007, the region has experienced a steady decline in total fatalities in recent years. Preliminary data from April through June show that roadway fatalities in 2010 have plummeted 34.4 percent, compared with the five-year average.

Statewide roadway deaths also continue to decrease in Kansas and Missouri for the fourth year in a row. Missouri fatalities dropped 15.5 percent to 333, and Kansas highway fatalities are down 13.3 percent to 163.

So far this year, based on the region's priority safety areas:

• 35 percent of roadway fatalities involved unbelted drivers,
• 18 percent involved aggressive driving,
• 15 percent involved impaired driving,
• 7 percent involved pedestrians,
• 27 percent involved people under age 25, and
• 8 percent involved a motorcycle.

The combined efforts of local, regional, state and federal highway safety advocates in law enforcement, education, emergency medical services and engineering are credited with helping to save lives. Each year the region's Destination Safe Coalition funds strategies that reduce fatalities and serious injuries by targeting those areas.

The Regional Safety Blueprint, updated in 2009, set a benchmark of reducing fatalities to 183 or fewer by 2012 — on the way to reducing fatalities in half by 2030. The goal for 2010 is no more than 199 deaths. Destination Safe's safety data task team is conducting further analysis to help identify trends in crash location and causes or contributing factors.

• Kansas City Region Fatality Report 6/28/10 (pdf)

Final fatality numbers likely will alter as additional reports come in for Kansas and Missouri.

For more information, contact Aaron Bartlett.

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Green Commute Challenge shows big savings at halfway mark

The Green Commute Challenge, which started July 6, is a fun way for employers and commuters to address two serious issues: air quality and rising gas prices.

The challenge encourages employees of area organizations to use alternative forms of transportation — such as carpooling, taking the bus, biking or walking — for their daily commute and other work-related transportation. Participants log their activities in the online calendar, and those activities are translated into amounts of miles and pollution avoided and money saved. Participants earn points that qualify them for weekly and monthly prize drawings.

Participant Steve Oakes said the challenge has given him an opportunity to measure how much he is saving and contributing to a more sustainable cause. "I have not driven my car since February, and I probably will be getting rid of it soon because I have learned to use alternative forms of transportation."

The 1,025 participants so far have:

• saved 251,499 miles of driving
• saved $136,061 in driving costs
• prevented 232,619 pounds of ozone-forming and greenhouse gases

The Green Commute Challenge lasts through Aug. 30 and is sponsored by MARC’s RideShare and Air Quality programs. More than 42 companies and organizations are competing so far.

For more information, contact Marge Gasnick.

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Regional trail-locator system will improve public safety response

More than 50 percent of calls to 9-1-1 in the Kansas City metro are made from wireless phones. In most instances, callers can appropriately identify their location with an address. But it's much harder for callers who are hiking or biking on a trail to provide an exact location to 9-1-1 personnel in the case of an emergency. And in emergency situations, every second counts.

MARC's Public Safety program has been working with local communities to create a comprehensive trail-locator system that helps 9-1-1 personnel and first responders more quickly identify a caller's location during an emergency. The Kansas City Regional Trail Safety Initiative involves GPS and map data, a unique address grid system, and locator signs on trails. The pilot phase was recently completed, and the goal is to expand the project to the entire nine-county bistate metro.

For 9-1-1 callers who use a wireless phone on area trails, while the cellular tower closest to the caller may provide a general indication of their location, that information is not usually specific enough for rescue personnel to deliver assistance quickly. Many trails are off roadways or in remote areas. For those trails not yet mapped, wireless 9-1-1 calls appear to be coming from open fields. Dispatchers may not know the nearest point of entry to the trail, whether there are obstacles that will prevent or complicate getting a response vehicle to an incident, or sometimes even which jurisdiction's emergency responders should be sent.

The city of Lenexa, Kan., dealt with a trail emergency incident several years ago that made them recognize the difficulty in locating people on trails isn't just a city issue. It's a regional issue, since trails often span multiple jurisdictions. So the city contacted MARC to discuss forming a workgroup to develop a regional approach to the problem.

An early challenge was figuring out how to assign addresses to locator signs that would be installed along selected trails, since there is no common street-based, region-wide address grid used in Greater Kansas City. The workgroup set up a new regional grid and developed a unique addressing system — compatible with existing 9-1-1 dispatch software — by assigning identifying numbers and letters to the location in the grid where a trail is located. Strategically placed locator signs along trails provide information similar to street addresses. In case of an emergency, callers simply find the nearest sign and provide 9-1-1 personnel with the seven-character address.

Lenexa started the region's first pilot project on the Black Hoof Trail surrounding Lake Lenexa. Since then, cities such as Leavenworth, Kan., Riverside, Mo., and Sugar Creek, Mo., also have installed locator signs on some of their trails. The region's trail-locator initiative has received national attention, and local jurisdictionshave won awards for their public safety efforts on trailways.

MARC's Public Safety staff is working with participating local governments to clarify what mapping data must be gathered, provide technical support, train dispatchers and responders on the trail-locator system, and help coordinate outreach to highlight the adoption of the program in specific communities. It is also researching possible grant opportunities to help fund expansion of the project.

The long-term goal is to inventory all the mapped trails in the region with details about access points, obstacles and other key information to help dispatchers zero in on a location. As an added benefit, participating jurisdictions think the emergency locator signs help deter crime and encourage people to be more vigilant and conscious of their surroundings while hiking and biking on trails.

To learn more about adding the Kansas City Regional Trail Safety Initiative in your jurisdiction, contact Saralyn Hayes at 816/701-8314.

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Transportation Improvement Program special amendment released for public comment; TIP third quarter amendment approved; Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program goal proposed to increase

Transportation Improvement Program SPECIAL Amendment #2

In July, MARC proposed special amendment to the 2010–2014 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for public review and comment. The amendment includes one new project to rehabilitate the I-35 bridge over Lightburne Road in Clay County, Mo. Public comments will be accepted through Aug. 9.

The TIP documents how Greater Kansas City will prioritize limited transportation resources to meet the needs of the region. The TIP contains major surface transportation projects planned to receive federal, state and local funding within the metro area that will be carried out in the next five years.

1. Review draft plan: www.marc.org/transportation/tip/amendments/10SpecAmend2.pdf
2. Input deadline: Monday, Aug. 9, 2010
3. How to submit input: By e-mail to tip@marc.org; by fax to 816/421-7758; by phone to 816/474-4240; by mail to 600 Broadway, Suite 200, Kansas City, MO 64105
4. Action taken: The proposed amendment will be discussed at the Total Transportation Policy Committee meeting at MARC at 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 24, 2010.

For more information, contact Marc Hansen.

3rd Quarter Transportation Improvement Program Amendment

The MARC Board has approved the 2010 third quarter amendment to the 2010–2014 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), which includes 44 new projects and eight modified projects.

• 2010–2014 TIP 3rd Quarter Amendment (pdf)

For more information, contact Marc Hansen.

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program Change

In June, MARC released a proposed change to its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program for public review and comment. This program establishes goals for participation of small businesses owned by minorities and women in contracting opportunities with the U.S. Department of Transportation. Public comments will be accepted through Aug. 10.

Due to receiving federal TIGER stimulus funding, MARC must recalculate its DBE participation goal. MARC recommends increasing its goal from 10 percent to 13 percent for federal funds allocated through USDOT-assisted contracts in the region to be expended with DBEs.

1. Review existing program (document will be unchanged except for increasing goal to 13 percent): www.marc.org/transportation/DBE/2008dbeprogram.pdf
2. Input deadline: Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2010
3. How to submit input: By e-mail to dblo@marc.org; by fax to 816/421-7758; by phone to 816/474-4240; by mail to 600 Broadway, Suite 200, Kansas City, MO 64105

For more information, contact Darryl Fields.

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